Showtime cancels Ray Donovan after seven seasons

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https://tvline.com/2020/02/04/ray-do...time-season-8/

The Liev Schreiber fixer drama's cliffhanger Season 7 finale that aired on Jan. 19 will serve as its series finale after Showtime opted not to renew the series for Season 8. “After seven incredible seasons, Ray Donovan has concluded its run on Showtime,” Showtime said in a statement. “We are proud that the series ended amid such strong viewership and on such a powerful note. Our deepest thanks go to Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, showrunner David Hollander and the entire cast and crew, past and present, for their dedicated work.” Two days after the Season 7 finale, Schreiber warned of a possible cancelation. Last month, Showtime Entertainment co-president Gary Levine said Ray Donovan was "nearing the end of its run." But Ray Donovan still seemed like a lock to at least return for Season 8. ALSO: Here are 10 questions that are forever unanswered in the wake of Ray Donovan's cancelation.

Ray Donovan boss: "We're still scratching our heads" over sudden cancelation

"We had no indicator that the show was ending," showrunner David Hollander tells Vulture, reacting to Tuesday's news that the recently completed Season 7 will be the last for the Showtime fixer drama. He says his staff has responded with a range of emotions, from being grateful to sadness to anger to confusion. Hollander says his writers had already planned out Season 8 with expectations that next season would be the actual final season. "We were behaving creatively as though we were in mid-sentence," he says. "And so, there was no sense that this was going to be a completion. This was in no way a series finale." Hollander says he suspects the merger between CBS and Viacom might've played a role in the abrupt cancelation. "Whatever new environment grew from the merger clearly had some impact on their choice," he says. Asked if Ray Donovan had ever been on the bubble before, Hollander responds: "Not even remotely. Every other year, it was them dragging us out kicking and screaming. We were so used to it being the other way, where we were burned out by a show that was very hard to make and the network would pull us and cajole us and push us. We were used to being a show that was not canceled. We never thought we would be canceled."

Liev Schreiber shares a one-word farewell to Ray Donovan following its cancelation after seven seasons

"Slainte," the actor wrote on Instagram Tuesday night. As Deadline notes Schrieber's fixer character is Irish-American, and “sláinte” translates to “cheers” in Irish and “health” in Scottish Gaelic. Schreiber sometimes used "sláinte" on Ray Donovan. His actor brother Pablo Schreiber added a heartfelt response to the post: “Congratulations on a tremendous run! Your talent, intelligence and leadership shine brightly. On to the next!”

Liev Schreiber hints Ray Donovan isn't dead yet

In an Instagram post Wednesday night, Schreiber wrote that "it seems your voices have been heard. Too soon to say how or when, but with a little luck and your ongoing support, there will be more Ray Donovan." Showtime, which announced Ray Donovan's cancelation last week, has yet to respond to Schreiber's post. As Deadline's Nellie Andreeva notes, "his comments are a clear indication that there are conversations about giving Ray Donovan a final chapter. That’s what Showtime has done with its other long-running series that have aired alongside Ray Donovan — Shameless, recently renewed for an 11th and final season, and Homeland, also headed into its upcoming eighth season knowing ahead of time that it would be its last."